Win Win Win: The Engineer In Residence Program At Ohio Northern University.

A collaborative effort between the T.J. Smull College of Engineering at Ohio Northern University (ONU), and Marathon Ashland Petroleum LLC (MAP) provides benefits for the corporation, the university and for students. The program provides an office within the college of engineering from which a practicing professional – the Engineer in Residence – operates. The Engineer-in-Residence is an employee of MAP, not ONU. The EiR office space is leased under an annual contract, which includes the provision of some support services – utilities, housekeeping, LAN/www, telephone and security – plus 24/7 access to the Biggs Engineering building. The facility is a scaled-down professional office providing a dedicated space for the EiR, and several engineering cubicles for use by college of engineering undergraduate students. Each station contains a computer workstation, which is linked to the ONU LAN thereby enabling students to gain access to MAP’s LAN. Currently engineering students are working on more than fifty projects under the direction of the EiR. The program provides students with opportunities to work on real world projects in an environment that parallels the workplace. The agreement also provides a mechanism whereby college of engineering faculty members may invite the EiR to participate in class activities. For up to 15 hours per academic quarter the EiR may be called upon to address workplace-related issues, thereby providing students with a better preparation for professional practice. Example topics include engineering standards, economic, environmental, sustainability, manufacturability, ethical, health and safety, social, and political issues. This paper describes the program, includes comment from the Engineer in Residence, undergraduate students, and the dean of engineering at Ohio Northern University.